Hi. I moved this article to my new website. Please read its updated and improved version there. Thank you.
https://www.100percentastrology.com/dividing-the-lifespan-in-astrology/
Written in September 2015
Knowing one’s true life Path, which is unique, as well understanding the roles of the Fates in one’s life and where (in what areas of life) and how one may exercise choices, instead of walking on the path of least resistance, has been by far the most sought out Knowledge in the history of mankind. Whether it is for power (emperors, popes), wealth (noblemen or business people), acquiring new territories (generals), or how to deal with the blows of the Fates (people with awareness), people have always wanted to have such information and how and when to act, so they get the maximum benefit.
This topic, when elaborated, is quite advanced as it encapsulates a person’s whole life. In other words, there are different types of Fates, which are not always active or not with the same power or intensity; certain topics in life become more activated in certain periods of life; certain experiences are also more likely to happen with certain people, more likely to be met at a given age, and not other, and also human awareness does not always increase with the same pace, if you will, and thus one can have great insights in a given time period, and not so much in another, which will change their awareness and perceptions and thus their views on life and the choices they could make. (of course, by a period I don’t mean some months or 1-2 years, but 15-20-25 years or more – the life divided in 2 or 3).
The two most fundamental ways of dividing one’s life are into 2 or 3 parts. This is both in Ancient Astrology (Hellenistic Astrology divides the life into 2 parts, Medieval Astrology divides the life into 2 and 3 parts) and Chinese Face Reading. Again, this is my section on integrating these amazing systems of knowledge and I did not know that Chinese Face Reading does the same with life, and of course has done, just like Ancient Astrology, for at least 2000 years.
The question naturally arises how one is supposed to divide the life. There are two ways: by the average longevity, that is, today for the world it is about 75 years, so when one divides the life by 2, the first half is 37.5 years and so is the second half. Obviously this method has serious problems because it applies and assumes general longevity. What happens when someone lives 60 years or 50 or 40, or even less? A lot of the predictions, based on that wrongly assumed number will be wrong, but more than that, this will start a chain reaction of mistakes, because if the practitioner is a serious one, be it of Ancient Astrology or Chinese Metaphysics, once knowing the number they would start tying other techniques that involve the whole life, leading to certain conclusions. In other words, when the foundation is wrong, one’s can’t reliably build on. Yes, a lot of people live to 75 or more, but that is no excuse not to take the extra effort and learn how calculate the length of life, provided they, and the systems they use, are able to.
The second way is to calculate the actual length of life on a case by case basis. Everyone has a unique Path, as I wrote, because their natal charts and faces are unique. No matter what the media or someone else is trying to convince the public, the reality is people are NOT born equal, each has specific talents and predispositions, as shown by the natal chart. On the bright side, the reality is such that the Fates make sure change is constant, that is, there is no guarantee that a wealthy man will remain so, and a poor one will remain so. Of course life is not about wealth, and while someone may be granted a lot in certain areas, they will surely lack in others, for what is the point of being wealthy if one is sick or unhappy or has no real friends, but only people wanting to get their hands on their wealth and contacts, but I digress. The point is that you see over and over in my articles, as well as written by every single textbook on Ancient Astrology for 1500+ years, that calculating the length of life is the most important and first thing to do. The situation with Chinese Face Reading, actually Chinese Physiognomy, and even Astrology, the Four Pillars of Destiny/BaZi branch is different. While there are many indications for general longevity, these systems are not structured in such a way so as to calculate the length of life and with Chinese Physiognomy the face changes and while it is possible to predict when one will die, the practitioner has to be able to notice the changes in the face. This does NOT detract from their value because these systems compensate by showing information which is very hard to get by Ancient Astrology and in some cases I would even say it is most likely impossible to get. Ancient Astrology, on the other hand, has many systems of calculating how long one will live. However, it takes a long time to study those properly and deeply enough, to sift through the hints and scant explanations and exemplifications and determine which work reliably and on a consistent basis. That is why there are so few people in the world of Astrology, any Astrology (and I have already written elsewhere in my blog that Astrology is the only system of any type of knowledge on this planet that can reliably do this), who can actually calculate the length of a person’s life.
As to the techniques of dividing life, in Ancient Astrology, particularly Hellenistic Astrology, the life is divided by 2. There are 2 major techniques and at least 2 others, which I will skip in this article, and of the 2 major ones, one is specific, the other is general. The specific one is called the Trigon Lords of the Sect Light. However, I don’t want to dishearten you, but you should know that since this also has to do with the length of life technique, there may be exceptions to this major technique. The Trigon Lords of the Sect Light refers to the triplicity/trigon lords of the Sun for those born by day or the Moon for those born by night. Depending on the zoidion (zodiacal “sign”) where the Sect Light is placed one determines who the trigon lords are and their sequence. There are 3 trigon lords, with the 1st one ruling the first half of the native’s life, the 2nd one ruling the second half of the native’s life and the 3rd trigon lord assisting the ruling trigon lord at the given period it rules. There are certain rules how to time the handing over of the 1st trigon lord to the 2nd. I will not dwell on them here, but will say there is more to this technique that what is written in the ancient texts. As to the delineation, it is the usual – examine the 1st and 2nd trigon lords, how they are configured etc, and judge accordingly for the 1st and 2nd part of life, (using the 3rd trigon lord to assist as well), in a more general way.
The second major technique, which as I said is general, involves whether one was born during a New Moon phase or a Full Moon phase, as well as the Moon’s separations and applications. Some also include the ruler of the prenatal lunation and its zodiacal state to judge for the life. New Moon – first half of life, that is, the native develops earlier on; Full Moon – second half of life, the native reaches their peak in the second part of their life – they are a “late bloomer”. Based on that and on the general support/eminence of the chart and of course the actual length of life, one judges accordingly – again – in a general way. But when one adds the Moon’s separations and applications, in the proper context, it really becomes more concrete.
Medieval Astrology divides the life into 2 (New Moon vs Full Moon and Moon’s configurations) and 3 – the Trigon Lords of the Ascendant (as well as other places). There is a conceptual difference. The Sect Light shows the life of the native in a general, universal way, whereas the Ascendant/Rising zoidion at birth is the most personal point in the whole chart (along with the Lots of Fortune and also Spirit) and describes the body and the character of the native (along with its ruler and other planets) and what the person needs to be happy and find fulfilment and in which area that will or won’t happen and in what way etc.
Chinese Face Reading uses 2 major methods to divide the life. (There may be others but these are the most significant). One divides the life into 2 parts, the other into 3 parts.
The situation with these techniques gets further complicated due to their individual nature and philosophical foundations. For instance, and I should stress that this is not written anywhere that I am aware of, it seems implicit that in the one that divides the life into 2 parts – the left side vs right side of the face, it is about the actual longevity divided by 2, and that is because of the way the technique is structured, as opposed to the one below.
The other technique, which divides the life by 3, namely the Heaven, Man and Earth, follows the 100 Positions Map of the face where there is a point for every year of the native’s life from the moment they are born till their 100th year (and then it starts again). I should say that, as usual, it is crucial whether the Spirit enters a male or a female body – males start the 100 Position Map on the left (Yang side of the face), females on the right (Yin side of the face). Heaven is represented by the first 30 years (the ears and the forehead), Man is represented from 30 to 50 (the eyebrows, eyes, nose and cheeks) and Earth is represented from 50 till the end of life, starting with the philturm and then the lips, mouth, chin, jawbones. In this technique – again, it seems implicit – life goes on, that is, whenever/wherever one dies – as shown by the specific part of the face, for instance dying at age 45 and 46 – the left and right cheeks for males and the reverse for females – that is the end of it and one does not reach all the way down and then up to the whole face.
In conclusion, and I keep repeating this, after the length of life is calculated, one must determine the eminence/rank of the chart. Why? Because unless one does so, they can’t know the type of chart they are dealing with. While the techniques presented in this article are incredibly powerful, when examining the whole life of the native in a general and not so specific way, the practitioner will inevitably make some wrong judgements and predictions if they follow them disregarding the general support and type of chart, also shown by other methods, because one native’s status in life may stay the same or improve or decline or just slightly so, and unless one knows how to determine this, the techniques cannot be used to their maximum potential, of course with taking context into account.
If you are interested in learning more about this I suggest reading my other article in this section.
The topic of eminence and dividing the life in 2 and 3 is fascinating, present and taking its rightful place only in these terrific ancient systems of knowledge, and I may return to it some day.
Written on the 29th of September 2015, day of Ares, hour of the Sun, day of Yang Earth Monkey, hour of Yin Water Pig.
100 PERCENT ASTROLOGY: ANCIENT AND CHINESE ASTROLOGY 